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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567049">even without</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Legend of Zelda &amp; Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:28:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567049</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>what would you be, stripped bare of everything except for that quick brain and smile?</i>
</p><p> </p><p>in the days dwindling down to the calamity, zelda lets down a few walls. revali doesn't realize he lets down some of his own.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Revali &amp; Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Revali/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. birthright</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You don’t like him either, do you?”</p><p>“<em>You </em>don’t like him?”</p><p>Her voice sounded incredulous as she stared up at him, out of earshot from the others. Zelda sat a few meters away from the campfire and the recently-named Champions, chatting away as they ate before resting at the stable they stopped at for the night. They were to spend the next few days together as they each learned their respective Divine Beast, as well as how to control it. She was staring at her hands moments before he surprised her, as if looking for something within them that just wasn’t there.</p><p>Revali huffed. He thought the answer was already obvious to her. “I asked first.” </p><p>Defeated, Zelda looked to the ground away from his stare. “It’s rather… complicated,” she nodded, “I don’t <em> hate </em> him persay, but—” </p><p>“You’re jealous.”</p><p>Her head snapped up to face Revali once more, not quite insulted at his accusation. He had only said the words that she could not get out. “Yes, I suppose so,” the ground was suddenly interesting again, “if the hero chosen by the Master Sword had been a little bit <em> older </em> than me, I might’ve not been so jealous but… it just <em> has </em>to be that he’s my age.” Zelda reviewed her hands once more, studying them as if she wanted to remember every single line ingrained in its palms. “He is everything I am not. Naturally talented, gifted, and able to take his destiny into his own hands and master it.” </p><p>Her hands slowly curled up into fists, nails digging into her palms out of frustration. What good were these hands if they could not do what they were meant to?</p><p>There’s a long pause between them, as Zelda silently realized she had prattled on far too long and Revali stood in front of her desperately trying to piece together words inside his head. He sat next to her on her own little log, taking her hands into his wings.</p><p>“Princess Zelda,” Revali started, “the Rito have no aptitude for special abilities like summoning thunder strikes or healing others. I spent five years developing a way to summon an updraft out of thin air, and now I am a Champion under <em> your </em> leadership, princess.” </p><p>Zelda’s eyes widened at the epiphany he led her to, taking a hand from his grasp to cover her mouth as she gasped. Revali was a <em> civilian— </em> not royalty, and far from a chief. When she first arrived at Rito Village she asked the chief for their best soldier, and he pointed to the Flight Range saying to ask for <em> him.  </em></p><p>“I… I had thought that the chief was your father,” Zelda chuckled, “he spoke of you so highly I would’ve thought you were his son.” The chief had described him as the best and most skilled archer he’s seen in all his years, and he wasn’t wrong at all.</p><p>Revali jolted away from her, as if she had shot an arrow straight through his heart. “<em>Me? </em> The <em> chief’s son?</em>” He could almost laugh. That bird was so old that he saw the chief as just some figurehead in their tiny town that barely needed any sort of governing. “No, no— my parents are some regular Rito back home. No <em> exciting </em>title or anything.” </p><p>She avoided his gaze out of anxiety and nervousness, covering her face with her hands, “I’m so sorry if I insulted you, Revali, I just—”</p><p>“No worries,” he cuts her off again; a bold move for someone who was talking to the princess of all people. He shuffles to hold her hands once more, “Now back to the topic at hand before you <em> sidetracked </em> us,” he pointed to her right palm, “You must realize that even without this sealing power you speak of, that we would still follow you into lava if commanded to?”</p><p>“But you all only follow me because I am the princess,” Zelda replied, “because the royal decree says so.” It was true, in a way; if Zelda was not a princess and instead someone of low status like <em> him, </em>there was no way in Hylia’s name that she would have the same privilege and opportunity. She would have no access to the Sheikah Slate, and would never be appointed the leader of the Champions. </p><p>Revali hums. He was backed up against a wall. “You’re right in saying that your appointment as our leader is from your birthright, but being intelligent and a natural leader is not reserved for royalty.” <em> Intelligent </em> was an understatement. At such a young age she threw herself into researching the ancient Sheikah technology that only the kingdom’s best scientists could crack. That alone was enough to squeeze <em> some </em>respect out of him.</p><p>The princess’ silence speaks volumes for him. It seems he had won this argument- if one would even call it such. It was more of a reassuring discussion, if anything. Revali got up from the log and dusted his feathers. “Tell you what, princess,” he says after a long while, “if you’re paranoid about being helpless and unable to hold your own, I’ll teach you how to shoot a bow and arrow.” </p><p>She stares at him for a long time, contemplating and piercing into Revali’s own eyes. That was when he began to worry, maybe he had offered too much, or maybe she was simply not interested. He clears his throat into his feathers. “I mean, that is if you <em> want </em>to, princess. I am the best person to learn from, but if instead you’d like to learn bladed combat from Urbosa or that annoying Link then—” </p><p>“I’d love to, Revali.” She cuts him off. <em> How ironic, </em> he thought. She plugs up his nervous waterfall of words with a soft smile as Revali gives her a thumbs-up in return. </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. taking flight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>zelda learns how to shoot &amp; revali gets a cute little gift he has no idea how to react to.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She called out to him from before the ladder leading up to the Flight Range. Revali’s small pocketwatch showed that it was exactly three in the afternoon, just as planned. He stood up from his spot in the Range’s hut to invite her up. “You surely are punctual, Princess Zelda,” he remarked, “with all the cold I would’ve assumed you would be a few minutes late, if anything.” He supposed that she was trained for it; arriving late to something on her busy bustling schedule would look bad on her track record, after all. </p><p>“Well, I couldn’t exactly be <em>late </em>for my lesson with the Ritos’ greatest archer of his time, could I?” Zelda said with a smirk and the slightest twinge of playfulness. “Link will not be joining us today, so don’t worry. I told him that if trouble arises while we’re out here, you’re more than capable of keeping me safe.”</p><p>Zelda shrugged a long bag off her shoulder and onto the wooden floor of the hut, unzipping it and revealing a Royal Bow to Revali. It was nearly identical to his own gifted by Zelda’s father, but he had never used it in favor of his own bow. “However, he <em>did </em>lend me his own Royal Bow. It’s a bit used but…” she played with the bowstring, “it’s in rather good shape.” She then took on a position of what she <em>assumed </em>archers looked like when they were aiming— before Revali plucked the priceless weapon right out of her hands.</p><p>Before Zelda could voice her complaints Revali holds up a much more simpler-looking bow, “No no, princess, you’ll be using <em>this</em> one.” He places it in her hands and the first thing Zelda notices is how much <em>lighter </em>it was in comparison. “The Royal Bow is built for only the most talented archers in the kingdom, so it’s <em>terrible</em> as a beginning bow, and more like some… <em>collector’s item. </em>You’ll be using the Swallow Bow instead.” Revali tugged on the bowstring of the Swallow Bow just a bit, showing her how easily it gave way. “It’s lighter, and easier to draw.”</p><p>Without skipping a beat, he pointed to a lone target set up on the rock in the middle of the Flight Range. It wasn’t too far, nor too close— perfect for learning. A bundle of arrows is shoved into Zelda’s arms as he gave her an encouraging nod, “Go ahead, shoot it the way you <em>think </em>it should be.” </p><p>Zelda was still, the gears in her mind turning as she desperately tried to remember how he and Link held their bows. Did Rito hold their bows differently compared to Hylians? She inspected the bow first with both her eyes and her fingers before recognizing the arrow shelf. Taking one of the arrows from the bundle, Zelda held onto the Swallow Bow with shaking palms. She docked the nock of the arrow on its shelf and pulled its string as far back as it would let her, though it was an uncomfortable position to be in. Her body almost faced the target directly, only tilted just a bit towards the right. When she deemed herself to be ready, Zelda looked back to Revali with an expecting gaze. </p><p>He did not move from his spot against one of the posts, only shrugging. “If that’s the pose you believe in, then let it fly.”</p><p>And so she does. The arrow flies maybe a few meters before falling into the void of the Range, only crossing half the distance towards the target. </p><p>Zelda watched the arrow make its endless downward descent before huffing and beginning to shoot once more. He stops her as she docked the arrow, putting a wing on her shoulder and the other one blocking her from moving the arrow. “First time is almost never the charm, but there’s much you need to adjust,” Revali said, “you need to at least <em>stand </em>in the right position first.” His feet moved Zelda’s own into a more square and strict placement, aligning with her shoulders and turning a whole 90 degrees to the right of the target. </p><p>The Great Eagle Bow seems to almost appear out of thin air into his arms. He held it up to show Zelda the next step: “You have be relaxed when you’re gripping it, not like you’re choking the life out of it.” Revali holds his own bow lightly and Zelda does the same. The next step was the only one she had gotten right, docking the arrow with ease. Then, she pulled back on the string once more and took aim as Revali came to her side to make a few adjustments. </p><p>“You have to pull it so your hand is right under your chin, and use your back muscles instead of your finger— you’ll get tired faster and more easily that way.” Revali was right behind her as he took her hand into his and pulled it back just like he described. “Then, look to the left and aim at your target…” the two did like so, “and fire.”</p><p>A bulls-eye. </p><p>The princess immediately jumped in her spot with joy, her hair doing so as well and her eyes lighting up with pride. “Look, Revali— look! I…” her smile when she turned to face him and point to the bulls-eye was unadulterated and pure, unlike ones he had seen prior. “I actually did it!” </p><p>He chuckles to himself, refraining from reminding her that he had helped her steady her aim and instead chooses to watch her excitement over her achievement. It was a small one on her way to truly mastering the bow and arrow, he knew, but any motivation and energy would be good for her. “Good job, Princess Zelda,” replied Revali with a slight smile, “let’s see if you could do it <em>again, </em>hm? We’ll go as long as we still have this bundle of arrows.” His proposition was answered with energetic nods as they got to work.</p><p>Half an hour later, the last arrow finally flew and struck the target. Zelda dropped the Swallow Bow out of exhaustion; her whole upper body was tired from forcing itself to stay steady and hold the bowstring in place just long enough to aim, but she’s made great progress so far. She had gotten two more bulls-eyes out of the twenty arrows from the bundle, and hit the target almost every time. Zelda was learning, and learning rather quickly. </p><p>“I would be lying if I said I’m not surprised,” Revali said as he handed Zelda some water to drink, “You’re quite talented with the bow, princess, and with some more practice you’d probably do well out in the field.” It was one of the few times Revali could put his ego aside just long enough to compliment another, and she deserved it. Zelda was working hard to better herself so she wasn’t defenseless without her sealing power, after all. Her hard work alone was something to clap for. “You can keep the bow, if you want,” he said, “for practice until next time you come around— if you want to, that is. I’ll give you some arrows so you won’t have to wait to buy some.”</p><p>“You’re too kind, Revali.” Zelda told him when she finally caught her breath, “even relenting to <em>teach me </em>was beyond generous in the first place. That reminds me—” she suddenly got up from her seat on the floor to rummage through her bag, before pulling out a thin piece of cloth; the same cloth used for the Champions’ scarves. “This was leftover from when I was sewing, and I wanted to give it to you as a gift.” </p><p>Slowly, Zelda approached the Great Eagle Bow and took it into her own hands as Revali tensed. He knew she would do no harm to his personal bow, but his feathers were on edge nonetheless. After a couple of moments, Zelda turns on her heel to present him the Great Eagle Bow… with the cloth tied onto its bottom half in a cute neat little ribbon. “It matches with your scarf! Doesn’t it look <em>cute</em>?”</p><p>He’s not quite sure what to say. Some part of him wants to point out how cheesy and ridiculous it looks on his magnificent bow, but yet his heartstrings feel like they’re being <em>tugged </em>when he looks at the ribbon, then her, then back to the ribbon. Revali couldn’t put his finger on the feeling. </p><p>Zelda notices his silence, taking it for disapproval as her eyes look down. “Of course, you can take it off any time, so—”</p><p>“No,” he told her, “I think I like it.” </p>
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